Sunday, April 03, 2016

Children Respond to Love!

Affirmations:
I love to learn from children and youth.
Children give me a bigger perspective about what is important.
I can more easily understand how to be helpful by listening to kids.
Everyone needs time, attention and respect to love themselves better.

Children Respond to Love and Respect!

This past week (Spring Break) we have had four 10 year olds with us.
Their relationships with one another and with us are fun, safe and easy.
No complaining, crying, negativity and even some successful negotiation.
Everyone had an intention of getting along, having fun and enjoying the week.

Seems so simple and yet it seems it doesn’t happen often with many families.
What it is that we need to change or rearrange to find family harmony and cooperation.
What can parents do to change the culture of our children and families to make them word?
How can  we grownups show up in a way that children can emulate and learn to cooperate?

Begin to ask yourself, “What can I do to create a happier, healthier family?”
How do you model behavior that works?
Do you listen to one another and respect what you hear?
Do you say “yes” to requests and find a way that everyone feels valued?

Probably the biggest wish children have is for someone to Listen and really hear what they say.
Are we adults, parent, teachers, grandparents, etc too busy to pay attention and care?
Is our agenda more important tan our kids, spouse, neighbor or our pets or plants or home?
Do we prioritize according to what matters to us, forgetting that others have their own priorities?
 
What if we suddenly knew that everyone is just as important as we are?
What if we saw that everyone’s values have the same significance?
What if we were helping our children, our families and our world by listening?
What if we recognized that our respect for our kids taught them to respect us for life?

Children learn from us how life works.
They watch us in our relationships.
They listen to how we talk to our friends and family, on the phone and in person.
They believe that they need to do what grownups do to be successful.

We need to listen to ourselves and our communication.
We need to watch ourselves handle our everyday activities.
We need to see where we put our priorities and where others fit in.
We need to see if we actually realize what and how we are teaching our kids.

Yes, media, peers, school environments and lack of family time all have influence.
But the most important influence on our children is our personal relationship with each child.
We need to never speak ro or about our children in ways we would not like.
We need to treat our kids as people who have thoughts and ideas, feelings and values that are important.

Even set aside 30 minutes/ week with each person in your family to listen and learn.
Do not use this quality time to teach and tell, but prepare yourself to really understand them.
When people are from a different culture, age and experience than you, you must take the time to listen.
We must never think we know what it is like to be them or see and feel what they feel.

Listen and Learn!
Love, trust and respect increase each time you take the time.
Apply the very best behavior to those in your family and watch them blossom.
This includes everyone---adults, children, elders and guests!

I love you and respect you.
I trust you love and respect me too.
I believe this is true, deep within us all.
Betty Lue